A known technique for connecting an electrical wire to an electrically conductive contact part consists in providing a slot for retaining the core of a wire, which slot is open along one edge of the part so as to enable the wire to be pushed transversely into the slot in which the core of the wire is nipped after its covering has been locally displaced by the edges of the inlet via which the slot opens out in the edge of the part.
An electrical connection facility implementing that technique is described in particular in Document FR-A-2 611 406. That facility, which is more particularly intended for use in a terminal block, is received in a housing made of an insulating material inside which a conductive connector part is held stationary that has a slot for retaining the core of a wire. The housing is provided with an opening having a first portion enabling a wire to be inserted into the housing to a penetration position from which the wire can be caused to penetrate into an insulation-displacement inlet of the slot transversely thereto. The opening is extended by a second portion which extends along the slot and which is organized to retain the covering of a suitable wire whose core is retained in the slot after it has been caused to penetrate therein.
An auxiliary operating part is provided for displacing the covering on the core of the wire and for pushing the core and the wire respectively into the slot and into the second opening portion until they reach a position in which the core of the wire and the covering thereof are retained respectively by the slot and by the opening. For that purpose, the operating part slides along the slot and along the second opening portion, thereby enabling a wire to be pushed therein from a first position in which the wire can be suitably placed facing the insulation-displacement inlet of the slot prior to being caused to penetrate therein, to a second position in which the wire is held by its core and its covering being nipped.
The auxiliary part can be operated from outside the housing by means of an opening which enables it to be pushed in under pressure from the shank of a tool, such as a screwdriver. The auxiliary part must return resiliently to the penetration position after it has been pushed in to connect a wire by penetration.
Insofar as connecting a wire by penetration involves applying high pressure to the auxiliary part, the connection method used means that the facility must be at least placed and preferably fixed on a support that is capable of withstanding the connection pressure. Such a facility is therefore quite suitable when it is used in a terminal block fixed to a rigid support. Unfortunately, it is more difficult to implement when it is incorporated in a connection module, e.g. that is to be received in a container inside which it is not fixed, e.g. for reasons of cheapness. It is then important to be able to connect wires and optionally to disconnect them with the most commonly used tools, e.g. screwdrivers and/or rib-joint pliers, without a fixed abutment surface being necessary.